It’s time for Resolution Maths

It’s that day again – the one where we decide to all the same things we failed miserably at last year. I’ve spoken on here before about how I’ve given up making fitness and weight resolutions as frankly, if my head isn’t in the right place to lose weight or exercise more it is never, ever going to happen so, if at any point I decide to get fitter or thinner during the year I’ll just leap into it then. I do have a few goals for this year though – some involving work and what I want to do with the blog, lots involving having more fun and doing even more travelling. They are nice resolutions so I’ll probably manage those but what if you have decided to do something that’s a bit more tricky for you to sustain than taking holidays. Well I loved a piece I saw in Men’s Health last month. It basically gave the formula for successful resolutionising (is that a word?) from the author Charles Duhigg which is ….

Habit + Cue = Reward

I’ll explain

First up decide what new habit you want to create – let’s say going to the gym three times a week

Now, you need to create a signal that cues your brain to do it. So, maybe set your alarm to ring 10 minutes before you are supposed to go workout playing Eye of the Tiger or something else suitably motivating

Once you’ve done your task successfully – give yourself a reward like a bath with posh bath oil or an episode of Nashville.

Finally, write the formula down

Gym + Rocky = Deacon and Avery time

This cements it further in your brain. The more time you repeat this process the more likely you are to stick to the habit says Duhigg.

So there’s one suggestion you might not have tried yet. Any successful resolutionisers out there, got any other tips that can help?

My name is Helen. And what makes me happy is discovering the newest, strangest or most fun products, studies and ideas in the worlds of diet, fitness and health. I do this all day every day - and some of them make me go 'oooh' ...
* Oooh - I just learned something
* Oooh - that's bonkers
* Oooh - that's fun/innovative/fantastic.
Those are the things you'll find on this blog.